WESTFIELD, N.Y. – When Jonathan Conklin and Charles Sanford approached Westchester Philharmonic violinist Mary Whitaker's home allegedly with a plan to rob her, the single-story ranch home on Titus Road might have seemed like a random choice. But it wasn't.

Conklin's maternal grandparents once lived in the house next door to Whitaker's, his father told The Journal News on Monday.

"I can only surmise that he scoped out that house because it looked empty," Michael Conklin said of his son, Jonathan. "He thinks anyone with a job and car has money."

Conklin told Sanford before they robbed and killed Whitaker on Wednesday that he wanted "to live like a rock star" and needed money for drugs, according to a federal complaint charging Conklin, 43, and Sanford, 30, of Erie, Pennsylvania, with carjacking, discharging a firearm in a crime of violence and transportation of stolen vehicles.

Mary Whitaker, 61, a violinist with the Westchester Philharmonic and other groups, was killed at her home in Chautauqua County.(Photo: Westchester Philharmonic)

Conklin was homeless and had befriended Sanford, a registered Pennsylvania sex offender, months earlier at a homeless shelter. One day before Whitaker was killed, Conklin ran into Sanford in Erie, where Sanford said he needed another place to stay because he had overrun his stay at the shelter.

The two hitched a ride to Sherman, New York, where they slept near an old railroad trestle before walking to an apartment next to Murdock's Family Restaurant. They stole multiple firearms there, including a .22-caliber rifle used to kill Whitaker, officials said.

The two then walked to Whitaker's home where Sanford knocked on her door at 6:45 a.m. to borrow her phone under the ruse that his car had run out of gas, officials said. Whitaker agreed and went to get her phone. As Sanford dialed, Conklin emerged with the rifle.

"This is a robbery," he allegedly told Whitaker. "Don't make this any worse than it is."

She apparently screamed and in response, Conklin fired a bullet into her chest, Sanford told police. Whitaker grabbed the rifle and during a struggle another shot rang out, striking Whitaker in the leg and knocking her head into the garage door, Sanford told police.

Sanford dragged Whitaker, who was still alive, inside the garage and stabbed her, as Conklin ordered him to, he told police.

After stealing cash, credit cards and the keys to Whitaker's Chrysler PT Cruiser, the two drove to Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, where they used Whitaker's cellphone to call a female associate. In exchange for drugs, the woman agreed to use one of Whitaker's credit cards to buy a large flat-screen TV and clothing at Walmart.

Conklin also allegedly used another of Whitaker's credit cards at a Rite Aid in Erie where surveillance footage shows a man matching his description.

Katie Murdock, owner of the Murdock's eatery, said she knew Conklin because he often would pitch a tent in state land behind her restaurant and in the morning approach her to ask for a job, telling her he had a culinary degree.

"He presented himself as an upstanding citizen, always 'yes ma'am, no ma'am,'" said Murdock, who initially turned him down.

One day, Conklin appeared with a young man whom he called his nephew and who appeared to be on the autism spectrum, telling Murdock he was down on his luck and his nephew had been dropped into his care. Feeling sorry for the two, Murdock agreed to give Conklin a tryout. A man living in the apartment next to the restaurant offered to let Conklin and the young man stay there, Murdock said.

"No sooner did I give him a key to the restaurant, he burglarized us," she said. "He had it planned."

Conklin also apparently had family living in the Sherman and Westfield areas. His parents as well as his ex-wife and two children live nearby, although it's unclear whether he had contact with them.

Michael Conklin said he believes his son has a drug problem. In the past, his son has conned people out of money and burglarized places but never killed, Conklin said. He said he is sick after hearing about Whitaker's murder.

"I haven't slept in three days — you start to have nightmares about that poor woman," he said. "I hope they take a picture of this poor woman and put it in his cell so that he could look at it every day and think of what he did."

Robert Chausow, Westchester Philharmonic's concertmaster, learned of Whitaker's death 20 minutes before performing with the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center, hours after her body was found.

Mostly Mozart dedicated Saturday's festival-closing performance of the Mozart Requiem to Whitaker, with an insert in the program.

"I'll tell you that was an incredibly moving performance," Chausow said. "Even the soloists on the program, who didn't know her, were affected and talked about how moved they were by it. It was a very special evening. I can't imagine a more fitting tribute than the Mozart Requiem, one of the masterpieces of humanity. I literally was playing through tears because Mary's face was in front of me."

Whitaker's partner, Suzanne Gilman, a Mostly Mozart orchestra violinist, was absent from that concert, having left for Chautauqua as soon as she learned of the slaying. On the program that evening was Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony, which includes a famous funeral march dedicated to Napoleon.

Chausow said Whitaker was "the person you wanted to see when you walked in the room," adding "I'm devastated at the thought of going to work and not seeing her."

Tributes on social media have been heartfelt and effusive, and "Mary was just as good as everyone is saying," he said.

Mostly Mozart dedicated Saturday's festival-closing performance of the Mozart Requiem to Whitaker, with an insert in the program.

Joshua Worby, Westchester Philharmonic's executive director, said funeral arrangements have not been set, but will mark Whitaker's passing in some way when the season begins on Oct. 19 at Purchase College.

"We're a small family," Worby said. "We're not a giant organization. We just lost a very special member of our family, which is stunning and shocking. Horrific. We will in coming weeks have an announcement about how we'll mark her passing."

Tony-winner Ted Sperling, a New Rochelle native who served as guest conductor last season, said he was heartbroken at the news.

"She was a consummate player who had a smile that always made it a pleasure to conduct her," Sperling said. "It's a big loss to all of us who had the experience of her musicianship and friendship."